Fluid pressure discharge apparatus



June 3, 1952 ..WEBER 2,599,304

FLUID PRESSURE DISCHARGE APPARATUS Filed Aug. 24, 1946 2 SHEETS-SHEET l F11-E, l.

CARL WEBER BY MM June 3, 1952 c. WEBER FLUID PRESSURE DISCHARGE APPARATUS `2 sHEETs-sI-[EET 2 Filed Aug. 24, 1946 FIZ-El El INVENTOR CAR/ WE BEA HTTozfm Patented June 3, 1952 new masserie DISCHARGEA,PPARATUSv Carli:` Weheny NewY york, N. Yr, assigner to `The lrelnr-x.-(Jonfliiallr,u Incorporate@ New-- NfY-a a correraiin 0f New-@rk Applicationaugusti, 1946, Serial-No. 692,912

Thisinvention relatesto apparatus for discharging fcomminuted material from storage tanks through .pneumatic material conveyors-and refers more .particularly to an Yapparatus adapted for. vuniformly and accurately adjusting-the dis'- `persionoidry or wet granulated or iinely powthe apparatus possesses economic.and technical advantages'.

The. .eiiiciency of`l apparatus forI discharging comminuted materials is largely dependentupon correct and uniform dispersionlof ytheinaterial into the4 transporting fluid current which carries the. nely divided particles` thereof in suspension .through the conveyorconduit andejects the same therefrom at the point of destination or use with the requiredvelocity'.

The. invention vhasfor-a further object thev provision.. of :an apparatus of thel indicatedV charactor which isadjustable -to provide for the correct and uniform dispersion ofthe material and toinstantly-vary the supplyfof the material to meet the required volume thereof Aat the point of;:dischargeand which adjustable to compensate for variations in moisture content and gravity of the material and fluctuations in the workingpressure ofthe fluid in order to avoid irregular pulsatingfor puing. discharge of the material` and Waste of power by interruptions of4 the. workat the point of applicationdue to llingup or. plugging. of .the conveyor conduit.-

The present invention also has in view the provisionof. an apparatus of said character which permits of adjustment; for the handling of different. characters of. materialsuch as heavieror bnlkier` material; coarsely ccinminuted material, wet., on stickiy, material; or .quick ,hardening m2,- terial fior. use in mortarblowmg andV sand blasting machinesandthe, like..v Assuch apparatus are generally operati-,idr in thev open Wherethe same and the material are; exposed to varying Weather conditioner atmospheric variations. of numiditr yand ,temperature causing Afluctuations inthe-weight and ...consistency of. thematerial ad,- iustments- .must be made. in vthe Yoper.ation thereof 2 Claims. (CL. 3921-56.) f

to vvary .the .rate of. material supply- .in .order- 4.to maintain the requiredservice eciency-- In apparatus in common use.,xfor ,the continuous discharge v.ofmaterial from' ;asupp1-M.tank into a conveyor conduit, a heavy cast-ironiconical shaped dispersing .wheel is. employed having a series of radially disposed ffinstprojecting, outwardly from the. wheelandopenatthe top and ends. in which-the material is carried by rotation into interceptingafrelation. with; the -uid current directed through one of the...pockets thereof and through a hairpin kturnso asto. carry the material into the conveyor. conduitin an angulated direction-of flow.. Suchv heavycdispersingv wheel has. the. disadvantage that, the same requires a considerable amounts-of power to eiect rotation thereof which is increased-hy theirictional resistance of hardmaterial deposits. that accumulate in the clearancespaces at the periphery of the rim of the wheel and be1ow.,theWhe.el and due to thefactthat water or', slightly; moist material s'uch as. sand, mortanand the. likequickly form encrustations in the. wheel pockets which greatly reduce the Vworking capacity of theapparatus, -the apparatusv can only be lusedwith dry comminuted materials. or compoundswithout frequent .interruptions for the remoyal. of such deposits which cause .costly delay: ine-the operation. Furthermore, the vnecessity .of using dry material causesv excessive loss of; materialsV by. segregation and dustingand the frequent formation of sand pockets andrlaminated kIrloztar deposit on the wheel and inside surface :ofj .the supply tank which is an objectionable feature of vsuch apparatus for use inv the handling. of materials for mortar blowers.A A further objtion to such apparatus is the, fact that the. flllid current is conducted -througha bend `of approximately 1-80. degrees in dispersing .the mailial from the pocket into the discharge line.; The centrifugal force created by the bend causesmoisture in the uid current to be thrown intothe pocket between the ns andontothe suriaces of the wheel resulting in the formationoi hardened encrustation thereon which necessitates .costly interruption of the operation of thernachino1 .Or the removal thereof. In order to overoomesueh objection air dryers or Water separators ,have been employed for extracting moisturefrom' the fluid current but the use of such additional. apparatus renders installationcomplicated and adds to the expense and cost of operation.

In order to overcome these objections the present invention has in view the provision of, an apparatus-- for dispersion ofY material from the supply tank into the conveyor conduitl by means of a relatively light-weight rotating ring provided with radially disposed depending blades for conveying the material in intercepting relation with a uid current which passes radially through the apparatus in parallel relation with the fins and in alignment with the conveying conduit to eifect a complete dispersion of all the materials conveyed by the blades and a complete cleaning of each blade in turn to thereby eliminate the formation of encrustation and pockets of the material and which permits of the use of wet or moist material as well as dry comminuted material.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, reference is now made to the following specification and accompanying drawings in which the preferred embodiment thereof is illustrated.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view through a pressure tank provided with a discharge apparatus constructed in accordance with the invention and illustrating parts in full.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of .the pressure tank with the closure in open relation.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken approximately on line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view takenapproximately on line 4-4 of Fig. 3 and showing the reduction gearing.

Referring to the drawings by characters of reference, the apparatus includes a supply tank II) adapted to receive comminuted or plastic material for discharge therefrom by means of a discharge device II into a tubular conduit I2 for conveyance to the place of use. The tank I is of any preferred construction or formation having a filling opening I3 at the top thereof surrounded by a funnel shaped hopper I4 and adapted to be closed by a ball valve I5 pivoted for downwardly swinging opening movement.

The discharge device II consists of a conical shaped base I6 provided with a central depending tubular extension I'I formed integrally with the upper end thereof and secured in vertical relation at its lower end inthe centrally apertured bottom Wall I9 of the tank I0 with the outer periphery of the conical shaped base I6 supported upon the upper surface of the bottom wall so as to provide an outwardly and downwardly inclined surface for gravitationally feeding the material outwardly in surrounding relation with the base and between the same and the cylindrical wall of the tank.

Mounted for rotation upon the conical shaped bases I6 is a rotor 20 consisting of a ring 2I secured to the outer ends of radially projecting arms 22 which are formed integral with and radiate from a common hub 23 secured by a nut 24 upon the upper end of a vertical shaft 25 journaled in the tubular extension I'I and coninected at its protruding lower end with suitable reduction gearing 26' located in a casing 21 axed to the under side of the bottom wall I9 of the tank. The hub 23 is supported upon the upper horizontal face of the base I6 with the arms 22 extending downwardly and outwardly therefrom in inclined overlying relation with the upper surface of the base and with the outer ends thereof extending horizontally outward so as to support the ring 2| above the bottom wall I9 of the tank and approximately midway between the bottom of the base I6 and the cylindrical wall of the tank III.

Secured to the ring 2l and depending from the under side thereof are a plurality of radially disposed vertical fins 28 which extend into the annular space or trough surrounding the base I6 The iins 28 are formed with vertical outer edges, horizontal bottom edges and inclined inner edges so as to conform with and have wiping engagement with the cylindrical wall of the tank, the bottom wall thereof and the inclined surface of the base I6 forming the vsaid trough.

The material is discharged from the tank` by a fluid current such as steam or compressed air which is under pressure to disperse the material and carries the same through the conduit I2 in a stateof suspension in the fluid. The fluid current is conducted from a source of supply through a suitable pipeline 30 which extends into the tankthrough the bottom wall I9 thereof with the outlet end 3| opening radially through an aperture in the base I6 adjacent the bottom thereof. The conduit I2 is secured to the side wall of the tank I0 with the discharge opening 32 disposed in radial alignment with the vfluid current outlet 3I and in parallel relation with the lengths of the fins 28 as the same passy between the said outlet and discharge opening.

In order to provide for uniformity of material supply and to discontinue the supply when. the rotor is at rest, a cover plate 33 is provided which is secured to the cylindrical wall of the tankI above the discharge outlet 32 and extends horizontally inward above the fluid stream with the inner edge thereof terminating in narrow spaced relation from the base II.l The arms. 22 have outwardly extending horizontal bars 34 secured thereto which arelocated so as to pass over the upper surface of the plate 33 for removing the material therefrom so as to prevent the accumulation or compaction of the same thereon.

The material in the tank I0 is subjected to static pressure upon the top thereof which is admitted thereto by a pipeline 35 connected with the pipepline 30 and having a valve 36 for regulating the pressure within the tank. Al throttle valve 31 is provided in the pipeline 30 for regulating the volume of uid current admitted through the outlet opening 3|.V The rotor 20 is driven through the reduction gearing 26 by means of a drive shaft 38 connected with a motor 39operated by uid current admitted thereto through the branch pipe 40 connected with the pipeline 30 and having a valve 4I interposed in the branch pipeline 40 for controlling the speed of the rotor.

It will be understood that the fluid current striking the material brought into the intercepting relation therewith at right angles to the direction of rotation of the ns results in a complete removal of the material from the trough as the material is brought into alignment with the discharge outlet 3 I. The material is also completely removed from the fms so as to prevent the formation of hardened encrustations whichcause excessive friction and reduce the working efficiency of the apparatus regardlessl of the Water suspension in the fluid current or the moisture content of the material. There is thus provided a discharge apparatus which can be instantly adjusted to control the speed of the rotor and the volume and pressure ofthe uid current so as to provide a constant and uniform supply of the material at the place of use.

What is claimed is: Y

l. In apparatus for discharging comminuted material from a pressure supply tank by fluid pressure, a discharge device in the bottom of the tank which comprises a stationary conical-shaped 5 base spaced from the side wall of the tank so as to provide an annular trough surrounding the base. a discharge conduit from the annular trough in the wall of the tank, an outlet in the conical-shaped base in horizontal alignment with the discharge conduit, a iluid pressure pipe line to the outlet in the base. a light-weight replaceable rotor mounted for rotation upon the base and consisting of arms movable over the conicalshaped face thereof, a ring secured to said arms and a plurality of radially arranged ns depending from said ring and movable in the trough with the movement of the rotor for moving the material in the tank about the base for discharge.

2. In apparatus for discharging comminuted material from a pressure supply tank by fluid pressure, a discharge device in the bottom of the tank which comprises a stationary conical'- shaped base spaced from the side wall of the tank so as to provide an annular trough surrounding 20 the base, a discharge conduit from the annular trough in the wall of the tank, an outlet in the conical-shaped base in horizontal alignment with the discharge conduit, a fluid pressure pipe linevv to the outlet in the base, a light-weight replace- 6 able rotor mounted for rotation upon the base and consisting of arms movable over the conicalshaped face thereof, a ring secured to said arms and a plurality of radially arranged ns movable in the trough for moving the material in the tank about the base for discharge, a plate disposed above the opening of the discharge conduit for preventing downward ow of thev material into the path of the uid pressure medium and bars carried by the arms of the rotor for movement over the plate for preventing accumulation of the material theren.

CARL WEBER.

REFERENCES CITED' The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,494,669 Crom May 20, 1924 1,735,233 Cassiere Nov. 12, 1929 1,817,240 Cuthbertson Aug. 4, 1931 2,183,547 Collier Dec. 19, 1939 25 2,314,031 Colburn Mar. 16, 1943 

